Bad day at the stereo ranch

[kach22i]

Ouch, $222.57...............worth it to know everything is ship shape and I'm getting the best performance out of everything.

If it were $50 an hour that would be four hours, better their time than mine right now. Gotta go, deadlines abound.

 

[chris03053]

Ouch, $222.57...............worth it to know everything is ship shape and I'm getting the best performance out of everything.

If it were $50 an hour that would be four hours, better their time than mine right now. Gotta go, deadlines abound.

George, you told them you're a Porsche owner and they added a little extra (premium that is)

 

[kach22i]

George, you told them you're a Porsche owner and they added a little extra (premium that is)

I don't even have heat in the thing, the roof leaks and so on. Yea, it's still a Porsche and I think it's a double edge sword.

The guy I brought it in to is a long time Porsche owner. I gave him a bunch of information on where to get his worked on, and some good web links. Did not think that would save me money, just looking for quality service and to be treated like a real person.

I'll recover.

Note: One of the units I purchased was written up for about $100 less than they were asking on Audiogon. They honored their mistake when I came to pick it up (paid cash ahead of time). Guess they got their money back.

 

[kach22i]

It's been three weeks since I had my little incident.

A couple of hundred to get the broken Z-Plug out of the amp, clean all the connections (including where the tubes go in), and rebias the tubes. Was told only a couple of them really needed it (out of 10 EL-34's). For the preamp the fuse was changed and they cleaned and looked it over, I swear it's running cooler already - time will tell, used to run hot in my opinion.

I've had the units sitting around for a week waiting for the speaker wires to get fixed. Picked up the speaker wires yesterday ($100 labor, $40 parts), put it in today, the new spade connectors are real heavy duty - Audio Quest.

I did a extensive vacuuming of the stator panels, took about an hour to do them. Can you ever over do it?

First impressions cold, the sound is light, thin and airy, just shy of lispy.

Right now I'm half way through Rosanne Cash's "The Wheel" CD, and it's starting to flesh out, picking up some body. Like a bottle of wine airing out?

Just purchased a bottle of Cragganmore single malt scotch ($50), think I'll pour myself a drink and pick out an LP to spin.

Nighty night, all is well at the stereo ranch.

 

[kach22i]

Just purchased a bottle of Cragganmore single malt scotch ($50), think I'll pour myself a drink and pick out an LP to spin.

Note to self: The bar on the corner must water down it's scotch - dang this stuff has personality.

What was I doing?

Oh yea, find an LP.

 

[aliveatfive]

If you have the chance, try 21 yr old Glen Livet the next time you power up your Logans. Outrageous!

 

[kach22i]

If you have the chance, try 21 yr old Glen Livet the next time you power up your Logans. Outrageous!

At one small drink at a time, this bottle is going to last a very long time - unless company calls.

I did get to play one side of Gene Ammons "Bossa Nova", had me dancing like a fool. Or was that the shot of scotch?

 

[kach22i]

At one small drink at a time, this bottle is going to last a very long time - unless company calls.

I finished that bottle of Cragganmore single malt scotch two nights ago.

About four months to finish it..........................is that good or bad?

Time for something new.

 

[kach22i]

UPDATE 03/19/2007

Around Christmas time I was moving a box of old records around and they slipped out of my hands about 1/2 inch from the floor (seven feet away from the equipment rack). The stereo was playing and skipped a beat, followed by a little static noise and the music fading in and out several times. I shut down the preamp because I saw from the power light it was the device having issues with the floor thud.

The unit would not power back up.

Last time this happened it was the power fuse in the tray right where the power cord goes into the back of the preamp.

The pre-amp has sat for almost three months, I've tried several new fuses durring that time to no avail. There is just no power getting into the unit, no hum of the transformer, nothing at all.

I took it into the shop Saturday, they most likely will ship it to somewhere else for servicing - unless it's something simple they can find right away.

I wonder how much it's going to cost me this time.

Wish me luck.

 

[Pcar928fan]

BUMMER! Good luck with that...very strange that such a small thud would cause such a big problem! Hope they find it and it is a cheap, easy and fast fix for you!

 

[kach22i]

BUMMER! Good luck with that...very strange that such a small thud would cause such a big problem! Hope they find it and it is a cheap, easy and fast fix for you!

I'm sure it will be a drop in the bucket compared to taking a Porsche to the shop.

NOTE: I think I recall almost two years ago my mother-in-law droping the big photo album on the floor - corner first. There must be a faulty joint somewhere, it must be fixed or this will just happen over and over. Yet another reason not to ever buy a Ferrari, all things Italian as you know are temperamental. Dang Italian pre-amp.

 

[Pcar928fan]

I'm sure it will be a drop in the bucket compared to taking a Porsche to the shop.

You are probably right! I rarely get away for less than about $800, and it is normally closer to $2k, but thankfully it is rare that I ever have to take them in for anything! *knocking on wood as I type this*

 

[kach22i]

I rarely get away for less than about $800,

Beats the heck out of $8,000.00

You don't want to know.

 

[Robin]

What If It Costs Too Much To Repair?

Beats the heck out of $8,000.00

You don't want to know.

kach22i,

Will you let go of your GRAAF WFB One Tube preamp, if they tell you it will cost too much to repair? and if that occurs will you be in the market for a new tubed preamp?

 

[Joey_V]

I took it into the shop Saturday, they most likely will ship it to somewhere else for servicing - unless it's something simple they can find right away.

I wonder how much it's going to cost me this time.

Wish me luck.

Good luck Kach! Hope all goes well!

 

[Pcar928fan]

Beats the heck out of $8,000.00

You don't want to know.

Sounds like a 911 that needed some engine work...

 

[kach22i]

Sounds like a 911 that needed some engine work...

Engine drop, clutch, real oil cooler, chain tensioner upgrade, those expandable oil tube things, full tune up (done wrong), a long list to get the car "sorted" when I first bought it. A word to the wise ALWAYS GET A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION (PPI).

I had in my budget only half the things done, and estimated those at 30% of actual, the shop overcharged me and did lots of stuff wrong. After three returns to get them to do things right I gave up and started doing things myself, which typically takes me three times to get right - but I'm a amature.

After over a year of unemployment my wife started her first day at work yesterday. Along with Michigan's poor economy I don't think major purchases are in the near future for us.

 

[kach22i]

UPDATE: 04/09/07

Later this week I should be able to pick up my preamp. Was told it was bad capacitor or two in the power rectifier. They tweaked and tuned it up, should sound better than ever once I get it back they said.

I bought some new vinyl last week, can't wait.

 

[kach22i]

UPDATE 04/29/07

I got the preamp back, $225 it was some bad power capacitors, they had to take the circuit board out to do the work, hence the bill reflected the amount of work done.

The store said the work was done by that guy in Ohio which custom makes $10,000 tube preamps. He also does upgrades to existing equipment. They said it should sound better than ever.

1. I thoroughly vacuumed off the Martin Logans.

2. I plugged them in and let them charge up for 30 minutes while I cleaned all the contacts on everything else.

3. I put in a CD and played a few songs, and then I switched to freshly opened Nick Drake LP which I played only a few tracks from, something more familiar would be required, something was not quite right I could sense it.

4. I adjusted my toe-in and discovered my balance R&L was backwards, so I switched the connection on the preamp and powered back up.

5. I put Dark Side of the Moon on; the music was still lean, edgier, faster and brighter than I remembered, not as flush and full. It was a slight thing, like going from C.J. to A.R., not flat or anything, but even the little snap crackle pop old LPs were more pronounced than before the repairs. The magic this special preamp seemed to have on vinyl had been compromised or though it seemed at the moment.

6. After the second LP (Wish you were here) and the second beer it really started to warm up. The sound was close to what it had been before, but better and getting better.

7. By the time my listening session was over I was very satisfied with the sound. The best part is that the excessive heat, which once made the knobs as hot as an oven, was now cool to the touch. The top of the preamp was nice and warm, not worrisomely hot as before.

Rock On!:music:

 

[MiTT]

Glad to hear that you were able to get everything fixed and are now back in the sweet spot. I'm sure the leanness and edge you were describing were just artifacts of the repairs and the new components burning in.

The description of the change in temperature on the knobs makes me think that your pre-amp was slowly sh!ting the proverbial bed for awhile. I'll bet it sounds even better than before in no time at all.

Enjoy that new vinyl!